CWE
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CWE-617 Individual Dictionary Definition (Draft 9)

Reachable Assertion
Weakness ID
Status: Draft

617 (Weakness Variant)

Description

Summary

The product contains an assert() or similar statement that can be triggered by an attacker, which leads to an application exit or other behavior that is more severe than necessary.

Extended Description

For example, if a server handles multiple simultaneous connections, and an assert() occurs in one single connection that causes all other connections to be dropped, this is a reachable assertion that leads to a denial of service.

Weakness Ordinality

Resultant (Weakness is typically related to the presence of some other weaknesses)

Observed Examples
ReferenceDescription
CVE-2006-6767
CVE-2006-6811
CVE-2006-5779
CVE-2006-4574
CVE-2006-4095
CVE-2006-4574Chain: security monitoring product has an off-by-one error that leads to unexpected length values, triggering an assertion.
Context Notes

While assertion is good for catching logic errors and reducing the chances of reaching more serious vulnerability conditions, it can still lead to a denial of service if the relevant code can be triggered by an attacker, and if the scope of the assert() extends beyond the attacker's own session.

Relationships
NatureTypeIDName
ChildOfWeakness ClassWeakness ClassWeakness Class670Always-Incorrect Control Flow Implementation
CanFollowWeakness BaseWeakness BaseWeakness Base193Off-by-one Error
Page Last Updated: April 22, 2008